At first sight, this little poem is a puzzle. We know from a particularly warm and beautiful poem addressed to Aelius (ode 1.28) that he and Horace were on good terms, but why the long genealogical opening, taking up half the poem, and is there any particular point to the little agricultural-cum-domestic vignette in the second half? The genealogical passage probably has a humorous intent: Lamia’s is a name to approach with care, since in regular speech it means a particularly nasty kind of witch. Then the first king of Formiae, from whom Lamia is said to be descended, was associated with the cannibal Laestrygonians with whom Odysseus has an unpleasant encounter in Book 10 of the Odyssey, increasing the likelihood that Horace may be gently ribbing his friend.
Towards the end, Lamia’s “Genius” could be the inner self or guardian spirit which was thought to accompany a person through life. Some commentators think that Horace literally sees the suckling pig as a blood sacrifice to this unseen companion, the sort of thing you might do especially on a borthday; others that the reference is metaphorical, and that Horace simply means, take the opportunity of a bad-weather day to relax and spoil your inner you. The two interpretations are not mutually exclusive, and Horace probably has both in mind.
Metre: Alcaics
See the illustrated blog post here.
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